Vertical axis propeller mechanism



Feb. 14, 1961 B. H. HANSEN ETAI. 7

VERTICAL AXIS PROPELLER MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1959 5 Sheets$heet' 1 IN V EN TOR. JOHN W. SARDEN BENDT H. HANSEN a.; Maw. ATTORNEY Feb. 14, 1961 HANSEN EI'AL 2,971,583

VERTICAL AXIS PROPELLER MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS JOHN W. BARDEN BENDT H. HANSEN Feb. 14, 1961 B. H. HANSEN ETAL ,583

VERTICAL AXIS PROPELLER MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 2, 1959 INVENTORS JOHN W. BARDEN BY BENDT H. HANSEN g #4 ATTORN EY United States Patent 2,971,583 VERTICAL AXIS PROPELLER MECHANISM Bendt H. Hansen, 7203 Brookville Road, Chevy Chase, Md., and John W. Barden, 508 Cleve Drive, Falls Church, Va.

Filed July 2, 1959, Ser. No. 824,754

3 Claims. (Cl. 170-148) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to marine propellers and more particularly to improvements in control of the operation of propellers or blades of the vertical axis or cycloidal type which are arranged for revolvement about a vertical rotor shaft.

Difiiculty has been experienced in control of or actuation of the propellers for the reason that heretofore involved and complex mechanical linkage from the rotor shaft to the propellers or blades has been required with the resultant less efficient operation than propellers of the horizontal axis type. The mechanical linkages employed in controlling the pitch of the vertical axis propellers or blades involves motions which cause large inertia forces, noise and rapid wear of the linkages and auxiliary elements. Further, there is an inherent inability of mechanical linkages of vertical axis propellers to provide the desired acceleration required during a normal cycle of operation and this restricts the amount of pitch which can be applied to the blades and results in a lower overall efiiciency of the propeller mechanism.

Briefly, this invention provides a vertical axis propeller control or operating system which utilizes a minimum of mechanical linkages. The present invention is directed to a combined hydraulic system and cam arrangement for varying the pitch of a group of propellers or blades during their revolvement about a vertical rotor shaft.

A broad object of the invention is to provide an improved hydraulic type of control for marine cycloidal propulsion.

Another object of the invention resides in providing cycloidal propeller mechanism characterized by smoothness and quietness of operation and having a minimum of moving mechanical parts.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view generally in vertical section and showing certain portions diagrammatically of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in partial section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 with parts omitted for purpose of clarity;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a detail of an element of Fig. l and 2.

Referring to Fig. 1, a propeller or blade rotor is indicated at 11 and encloses a plurality of supports 12 for blades 13 which depend through the lower wall 14 of the rotor.

The housing top wall 15 has an integrally formed hollow rotor shaft 16 which is supported through other structure by fixed housing 17 on the ships hull which is partially outlined in broken lines. The hydraulic fluid ice for the control of the blades or propellers 13 is circulated through inner and outer passageways 18 and 19 recirculation. A cam 26 is mounted within the rotor 11 adjacent the lower end of a second hollow shaft 27 which extends through the hollow rotor shaft 16. The cam 26 is actuatable to adjust its position vertically of the rotor 11 through the hollow shaft 27 by means of a rack 28 formed in the upper end portion of shaft 27 and a pinion assembly 29 fixed to a shaft of pitch actuator A. The cam is also rotatable through shaft 27 by means of a spur gear 30 fixed thereto and a cooperating spur gear 31 fixed to a shaft 32 of a steering actuator A.

The fixed housing 17 has a gear compartment 40 which has driven gear 41 therein fixed to rotor shaft 16 and a coacting driving gear 42 which is mounted on a main drive shaft 43 through which the rotor shaft 16 and rotor 11 are operated. Keyways 44 are provided on the shaft 27 to receive the gear 30 and permit limited vertical movement of the shaft when the cam 26 is raised or lowered by the actuator A.

As is shown in Fig. 2, the blades 13 are preferably arranged in a group, for example, of four, as shown, and they depend from the rotor 11 and define a circumference E about which they rotate and each blade is adjusted in pitch by means of the cam 26 which in turn is controlled from the bridge of the vessel through the drive arrangement heretofore discussed. The pitch adjustment of blades 13 will be determined by the position of the cam 26 relative to feeler means which will be described in connection with Fig. 3. One controller C is provided for each blade, two of which are shown in Fig. l as representative of the positions which a blade may assume during the rotation of housing 10. Various types of hydraulic controllers C may be used and the blades 13 may be variously mounted in supports 11 and it is to be understood that the following detailed description of the mounting for the blades is not to be limitative of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, each blade 13 is provided with a shank 50 which is mounted for rotative or pitch adjustment movement in a support 12 on hearing means 51 and a tang 52 for fixedly receiving the clamping end. 53 of lever means or actuating arm 54. Each of the con-.

trollers consists of a cylinder 55, piston 56 and inner and outer concentric conduits 57 and 58. The outer conduit 58 is pivotally connected at 59 to the other end of lever means or actuating m 54 and the piston 56 is fixed to the outer conduit 58 and movable therewith while the inner conduit 57 is provided with feeler means 60. The details of one of the controllers C will be described in connection with Fig. 3 but it will be understood that they cooperate with the cam 26 and function to maintain the feeler means 60 in constant physical contact with the cam 26.

Fig. 2 shows a group of four propellers positioned by the cam 26 when the feelers 60 are in contact with the cam adjacent its upper edge, as shown in Fig. 1, and when the rotor 11 is stationary. The positions are indicated at A, B, C and D relative to the circumference or normal path of travel E. At A, the propeller 13 is positioned by cam 26 to provide thrust in the direction indicated by the plural arrows and the propeller is pitched inside the normal path of travel E; at B,

the propeller is pitched on the path E; at C, the propeller is pitched outside the path E while at D, the propeller is pitched on the path E. When the propellers are being rotated by therotor 11 each piston 56 of a controller will assume the several positions shown in Fig. 2 in sequence due to the design of cam 26.

Fig. 3 shows an enlarged detailed view of one type of controller arrangement which may be used to control the pitch of the propellers and to maintain the feelers 60 in contact with the cam 26. The cylinder 55'may be formed of a cup-shaped housing 70 having a cover plate 71 while the outer shaft 58 extends through these members in sealed relation therewith by packing 72 and packing glands 73, as shown. The piston 56 is formed integral with the outer shaft 58 and passageways 74 and 75 are formed in the piston 56 to be in communication respectively with inner fiuidcompartment 76 and outer fluid compartment 77. The

constant fluid communication by means of a pressure equalizing passageway 80. The inner conduit 57 is provided with valve disks 81 and 82 and has one or more apertures 83 between the plugs, and the inner conduit is in communication at its outer end with cavity 78 of the outer conduit. Additionally, a space 84 is provided between the conduits and communicates with both the lower and upper cavities 78 and 79 while the piston passageway 75 provides communication between the outer compartment 77 and the space 84 and the inner fluid compartment 76 communicates with the space 84 through passageway 74.

When the rotor housing 16 is stationary and the positions of the controllers are as shown at B and D of Fig. 2, that is, the propellers are pitched in the path of travel E, the controller elements would assume their relative positions as shown in Fig. 3. Consequently, the pressure fluid in inner conduit 57 would circulate through cavity 78, outer passageway 84 and cavity 79. When the controller is positioned as shown in A of Fig. 2, for example, the passageways 74 and 75 would be uncovered by movement of valve disks 81 and 82 as determined by the cam 267and the piston 56 would move inwardly or outwardly of cylinder 55.

Although only a single embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of.

the appended claims.

. What is claimed is:

1. A cycloidal ship propeller comprising a rotor housing having a tubular drive shaft extending vertically from its upper wall and mounted in the ship structure for revolving the rotor in a horizontal plane, a group of outer conduit'58 has an outer' cavity 78 and an inner cavity 79 which are placed in means comprising a group of inner and outer fluid circu-.

lating conduit assemblies spaced circumferentially within the rotor and with their longitudinal axis extending radially between the cam and the blade shanks, each of said conduit assemblies being arranged for the circulation of fluid between the inner and outer conduits, the outer end of each assembly being operatively connected to a blade shank and the inner end of each assembly having a cam follower, concentric inner and outer conduits disposed 7 within the tubular control shaft providing inner and outer fluid passageways, a first manifold for the inner passage way and a second manifold for the outer passageway, a flexible connector between each assembly inner conduit and said first manifold and a flexible connector between each assembly outer conduit and said second manifold for circulating fluid simultaneously through each of said assemblies and means carried by said inner and outer conduit assemblies and operable by said cam followers to permit movement of each assembly under pressure of the circulated fluid for simultaneously adjusting the position of each blade as the cam is rotated.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, further characterized by means for adjusting the position of the cam vertically of the rotor housing.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1, further characterized by said last mentioned means comprising a cylinder having the outer conduit extending axially thereof and carrying a piston providing an inner and an outer fluid compartment within the cylinder, a first passageway in the piston communicating between the outer conduit and one of the fluid compartments, a second passageway in the piston communicating between the outer conduit and the other fluid compartment, spaced disks on the inner conduit, said disks being operable by the follower on the inner conduit to control the supply of fluid to the fluid c'ompartments for adjusting the blade pitch in accordance with the cam position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

